Is OCD Caused By Trauma?

There's a common belief that OCD must stem from some kind of traumatic experience. But that's not necessarily true. Many people develop OCD without any history of trauma, while others experience both OCD and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), making it difficult to distinguish where one condition ends and the other begins. In this video, NOCD Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Patrick McGrath breaks down the complicated relationship between OCD and trauma.At NOCD, we specialize in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD—a treatment that can help you live a fulfilling life. If you’re ready to take your first step, book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YT Follow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/ https://twitter.com/treatmyocd https://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“You can see a lot of progress if you give yourself the chance to be uncomfortable.”It’s something Chris Ceballos tells her Members when OCD treatment gets difficult. And it’s a discomfort Chris knows firsthand. After a career in marketing and PR, she found her way into mental health, where her own experience with exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy helped shape her approach to helping others.Today, Chris is one of NOCD’s 2026 Lifechangers, recognized for some of the strongest clinical outcomes at the company. She joins Dr. Patrick McGrath on this episode of Get to Know NOCD Therapists to reflect on her unconventional career path, how specializing in OCD made her a stronger therapist, and the rewarding experience of helping Members regain their life from OCD.If you’re ready to work somewhere specialized OCD treatment is the focus — not an afterthought — explore joining the team at NOCD: https://learn.nocd.com/therapist_careersFollow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/https://twitter.com/treatmyocdhttps://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can't focus, you're constantly overthinking, and you find yourself checking the same things over and over. Is it OCD, ADHD, or possibly both? The symptoms can look surprisingly similar, but what's happening beneath the surface can be completely different. And when those differences go unnoticed, people can spend years getting treatment that never addresses the real problem.In this episode of Get to Know OCD, Dr. Patrick McGrath is joined by ADHD specialist Heather DeAngelis to explore why these two conditions are so often confused. Drawing from her own experience of being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, Heather discusses the overlooked signs of ADHD, how OCD and ADHD can complicate each other, and why understanding what's driving someone's behavior is so important.At NOCD, we specialize in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD—a treatment that can help you live a fulfilling life. If you’re ready to take your first step, book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YT Follow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/ https://twitter.com/treatmyocd https://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal have to do with OCD? More than you might think. The HBO series takes preparing for uncomfortable situations to ridiculous extremes, recreating entire environments, hiring actors, and rehearsing every possible outcome to make sure nothing goes wrong. But for people with OCD, that same process can play out entirely inside their heads, and no amount of preparation ever feels like enough.In this video, NOCD's Dr. Patrick McGrath reacts to the first episode of The Rehearsal, breaking down the surprising similarities between Nathan's elaborate experiments and the mental compulsions that keep people trapped in OCD. From obsessively replaying conversations to trying to eliminate every possible risk, he explains why the search for absolute certainty can backfire and what exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy teaches us about facing the unknown.At NOCD, we specialize in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD—a treatment that can help you live a fulfilling life. If you’re ready to take your first step, book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YT Follow us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/ https://twitter.com/treatmyocd https://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is something actually wrong with your relationship, or is OCD making you question everything? Maybe you're constantly wondering whether you've found the right person, comparing your relationship to others, or asking friends for reassurance that you're good together. The more you search for certainty, the harder it becomes to feel confident about the person you're with.In this video, NOCD's Dr. Patrick McGrath explains how to recognize the signs of relationship OCD (ROCD), why even healthy relationships can become consumed by doubt, and how the constant need for reassurance can push partners apart.At NOCD, we specialize in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD—a treatment that can help you live a fulfilling life. If you’re ready to take your first step, book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YT Follow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/ https://twitter.com/treatmyocd https://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Austin Kang's older brother began struggling with severe OCD, the entire family's attention shifted toward helping him. Austin was still in middle school, but he decided he couldn't add to his parents' stress. He needed to be the “easy” child. That meant hiding his own problems, keeping friends at a distance, and convincing himself that whatever he was going through wasn't important enough to bring up.In this episode of Get to Know OCD, Austin joins Dr. Patrick McGrath to discuss the overlooked struggles of siblings living in families affected by OCD, including guilt, resentment, and the pressure to be perfect. He also shares how his own experience inspired him to create Behind the Scenes, a support community for siblings who deserve to be heard, too.At NOCD, we specialize in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD—a treatment that can help you live a fulfilling life. If you’re ready to take your first step, book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YT Follow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/ https://twitter.com/treatmyocd https://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Cornell Seven sexual assault allegations have dominated headlines, but for some people with OCD, the story is triggering an entirely different kind of fear. What if something happened in my past that I don't remember? What if I hurt someone without realizing it? What if I'm somehow guilty by association?NOCD therapist and Chief Compliance Officer Traci Ibrahim explains how high-profile allegations can fuel obsessive doubt, especially when OCD latches onto someone's memories, past experiences, or sense of morality. The more someone tries to find certainty about the past, the more confusing those memories can become.Traci also opens up about her own experiences with OCD and PTSD, the challenges of navigating trauma alongside OCD, and how to recognize when a news story is pulling you into a cycle of rumination and reassurance-seeking.At NOCD, we specialize in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD—a treatment that can help you live a fulfilling life. If you’re ready to take your first step, book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YT Follow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/ https://twitter.com/treatmyocd https://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you try exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, do everything you're told, and still don't get better? You might be facing your fears without realizing you're also doing things that keep your OCD alive.Dr. Patrick McGrath is joined by NOCD therapist William Schultz and psychologist Brett Deacon to explore why ERP sometimes falls short. They discuss a patient who couldn't wash her hands during treatment but continued performing mental compulsions, revealing how easily OCD can find another way to maintain its grip.The conversation also explores why intrusive thoughts feel so real, how reassurance and other safety behaviors interfere with recovery, and why learning to tolerate uncomfortable emotions is such an important part of treatment. At NOCD, we specialize in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD—a treatment that can help you live a fulfilling life. If you’re ready to take your first step, book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YT Follow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/ https://twitter.com/treatmyocd https://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shanna Chappell was working in private investment research by day and volunteering as a therapist outside of work. She knew which career she wanted to pursue, but getting there wasn't exactly straightforward. In fact, her first attempt to join NOCD didn't work out.A year later, Shanna applied again. This time, she came more prepared, had more clinical experience under her belt, and got the job. Now she's helping people with OCD through exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy — a specialty she barely learned about in graduate school.This week on Get to know NOCD therapists, Shanna joins Dr. Patrick McGrath to talk about her unconventional career path, what she learned from the NOCD hiring process, and how specialized training and ongoing support have changed her confidence as a therapist. She also shares what it's really like working remotely at NOCD and her advice for therapists considering making the leap.If you’re ready to deepen your ERP skills and work somewhere specialized OCD treatment is the focus — not an afterthought — explore joining the team at NOCD: https://learn.nocd.com/therapist_careersFollow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/https://twitter.com/treatmyocdhttps://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mia Mason spent most of her life worrying that she was secretly a terrible person. What if she hurt someone? What if she did something wrong? What if the thoughts she couldn't escape said something about who she really was? It wasn't until she was 23 that she finally learned those fears had a name: OCD.Art had always been her escape. So when she finally started getting the right treatment, she began drawing what she was learning in therapy. Those drawings eventually became “Worry's Whispers”, a book about living with OCD. The irony? Publishing it meant facing one of her biggest fears — putting herself out there and risking being misunderstood.This week on the Get to Know OCD podcast, Mia joins Dr. Patrick McGrath to talk about the thoughts she once kept to herself, why she turned her OCD into a ghost named Worry, and how she's learned to build a bigger life without waiting for the fear to disappear.At NOCD, we specialize in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the most effective treatment for OCD—a treatment that can help you live a fulfilling life. If you’re ready to take your first step, book a free 15-minute call with us at https://learn.nocd.com/YTFollow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/treatmyocd/https://twitter.com/treatmyocdhttps://www.tiktok.com/@treatmyocd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.